Detecting water on the planet 179 light-years from Earth

The spectral analysis shows signs of water on the atmosphere of the outer planet HR 8799c in the Galloping constellation.

Astronomers from the Keck Observatory in Maunakea, Hawaii announced on November 20 the existence of water in the atmosphere of an alien planet light 179 years from Earth, Universe Today reported. HR 8799c is a giant gas planet 7 times larger than Jupiter and takes about 200 years to complete a spin around the host star.

Located in the constellation Pegasus (Pegasus) and one of four planets orbiting the 30 million-year-old star HR 8799 in the center. The star system was first discovered in 2008. The orbiting planets were named HR 8799 b, c, d and e, respectively.

Simulate the star system HR 8799. (Photo: Universe Today).

Gathering detailed information about exoplanets has always been a challenge for scientists because they are often obscured by the light of the host star, making the telescope very difficult to observe directly.

The team combined a high-resolution spectrum analyzer with a technique called "adaptive optics" to eliminate the blurring effect of the Earth's atmosphere. They then used a near-infrared spectrometer from the Keck II telescope to "break" the star's light, helping to analyze the atmospheric chemical composition of HR 8799c.

"This technology is exactly what we need to look for signs of life on Earth-like exoplanets in the future," said Dimitri Mawet, Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). know.

The presence of water and chemicals such as oxygen or methane in the atmosphere is the most basic sign of the possibility of life on a planet. Despite detecting signs of water on HR 8799c, the team confirmed the absence of methane in the planet's atmosphere.

"Now we can be more certain about the absence of methane on the planet's surface. This may be due to the mixing and convection process in the atmosphere , " said Ji Wang, the team leader. explain.